Luke's Catechism
by pronker
Summary: Luke fends off boredom on the way to Alderaan. Ben indulges him. General; M for considerations of non-graphic slash.


Title: Luke's Catechism

Genre: General

Pairing: None

Setting: Aboard the Millenium Falcon en route to Alderaan

Characters: Luke Skywalker, Ben Kenobi, mentions of Han Solo and Chewbacca.

Warnings: Non-graphic reminiscences of Anakin and Obi-Wan's relationship. First time attempt at writing Luke and Ben, warnings for that, also.

Disclaimer: I make no profit from this fanfiction set in George Lucas' Star Wars.

Author's Note: Substitute 'Baltimore' for 'Balmorra' to find Earth's equivalent term.

Summary: Luke fends off boredom on the way to Alderaan. Ben indulges him.

IOIOIOIOIO

Luke's third question caught Obi-Wan off-guard. The worn Jedi moaned to himself as he searched his memories for the Catechism that all Jedi learned. It took a planet with no native sentients to come up with the Balmorra Catechism, he mused. Perhaps the rigid structure of the dialectic came from beings who yearned for their homeworlds after emigrating to industrial Balmorra for a better existence. The emigrants reestablished order in their disrupted lives by cementing answers to all the important questions about the Force. Thinking about origins was all well and good, thought Obi-Wan, as he delayed dealing with Luke's enthusiasm. He considered Luke's face. It was Anakin's face with Padme's fierce intelligence behind eyes that were not brown. The look was as earnest as hers had been and far more naive.

"Luke, that sort of question is difficult to answer." Obi-Wan's glib answers to weighty questions that all Padawans asked did not spring from his tongue as they did before Mustafar. He had not taught a class like this in twenty years. He caught the headstrong Anakin look and knew he wouldn't be in for an easy time as a teacher. He needed their time together to hone Luke's battle skills, he told himself. "And I've already told you some things about the Force on Tatooine. What else I can add is in the form of questions and answers, and I fear our time is limited enough, impossibly limited --- "

"Nothing is impossible. You've simply forgotten. You've just told me that there was a Temple. I know things were taught there. I want to learn those things in the way that Jedi learned them." Luke smiled Anakin's smile, the one to which Obi-Wan had lost his heart. "And since you're the only Jedi Knight I know, you have to answer."

This was not the Force-drenched classroom in Initiates' Hall, the one near the kitchens, the one with arched double doors leading to sunny play gardens. This was a freighter's cramped cabin with a dejarik table in the middle and a glowering mercenary captain in the cockpit. Obi-Wan did not think that his own outlook could ever reach Solo's sourness, but he had been wrong about things before. Luke sat beside him at a gesture. Obi-Wan counted the time until planetfall at Alderaan and figured there was just enough. He waved a desert-burned hand as he used the Force to enhance Luke's concentration, smiling back when Luke felt the benevolence behind the nudge without knowing what exactly he was being nudged into, yet trusted him all the same. The Wookiee's and the Captain's presences faded away from them both and Obi-Wan was alone with Anakin's son. "Ask me your question again. I will guide you to the next, if you open your thoughts to me willingly. You are strong-minded."

It was the beginning of a training bond, it was something to fear. Obi-Wan resolved to keep it a pinched, one-way thing. There was no time for anything else.

IOIOIOIOIO

**Q. Why are we here?**

**A. **We are here to learn about the Force.

**Q. What is the Force?**

**A. **It is an energy field. It surrounds us, penetrates us, it binds the galaxy together.

**Q. Where does the Force come from?**

**A. **It comes from all living things.

**Q. Who uses the Force?**

**A. **A Force-sensitive uses the Force.

**Q. How does a Force-sensitive use the Force?**

**A. **A Force-sensitive learns to know the will of the Force to determine his actions.

**Q. When does the Force determine actions?**

**A. **When we are centered in the Force, we hear what the Force wants us to do and the Force obeys our will.

**Q. Why shouldn't we listen just to ourselves? **

**A. **Because we are only part of a larger world.

**Q. What do I get if I listen to the Force?**

**A. **You will get fulfillment, Luke.

**Q. Where does it say that I have to be fulfilled?**

**A. **Search your feelings. You know it to be true.

**Q. Who is the most powerful user of the Force?**

**A. **My best pupil was the most gifted in the Force that I ever knew.

**Q. How come your pupil won't be helping us to rescue the Princess?**

**A. **He died, right about the time that your father did.

**Q. When will we get to Alderaan?**

**A. **Soon.

**Q. Why can't I be a Jedi Knight right now?**

**A. **I would not burden you with a Knighthood this soon. You still have much to learn.

**Q. What is being a Knight like?**

**A. **It sets me apart from others. I don't know another way to live.

**Q. Where have you been to in the galaxy?**

**A. **Here, there, everywhere. Lately I've stayed on Tatooine, as you know.

**Q. Who taught you?**

**A. **The student teaches the Master. I am learning from you, young Luke.

**Q. How did you get to be so wise?**

**A. **Oh, if only that were true.

**Q. When will we get to Alderaan?**

**A. **Soon.

**Q. Why did my heart hurt when you mentioned your best pupil when I'll never meet him?**

**A. **We loved each other. I see that you are learning from me, as well.

**Q. What was love like?**

**A. **It was fulfillment, of a different sort.

**Q. Where did he die?**

**A. **In a place hotter than Tatooine.

**Q. Who killed him?**

**A. **He killed himself. I was there.

**Q. How did you get over it?**

**A. **Time and the Force helped me.

**Q. When did you know for sure that you loved him?**

**A. **It took a much longer time than we have left to continue discussing the Force.

**Q. Why don't we go back to discussing the Force?**

**A. Thank you.**

**Q. What does the Force say about finding the right person to love?**

**A. **The Force says that you will know the right person as their own person first and as an object of love afterwards.

**Q. Where does it say that the right person can't be a holoimage?**

**A. **The Force is silent on some things. As a Jedi, I can only tell you to trust your feelings.

**Q. Who will Knight me?**

**A. **All the Jedi who have ever been and shall ever be will Knight you, Luke.

**Q. How come it won't be you, Ben?**

**A. **I feel that Alderaan is near. And Luke, you may have more questions after we've rescued the Princess. We'll be successful, I feel that, too, but now for some practice droid work. Up on your feet.

IOIOIOIOIO

After the events of that day, Luke would remember the nudge from the Force, how it felt and how it made him smile. When the nudge came again, he was ready with more questions.

The End.


End file.
